Sensex, Nifty up for 1st time in 4 days; Auto, Realty shine

Mumbai: Benchmarks on August 11 rose for the first time in four sessions with Sensex spurting 190.10 points to end at 25,519.24 and Nifty rising 57.40 points to close at 7,625.95 after auto stocks drove gains on earnings optimism while realty shares saw buying after Sebi cleared REIT norms. Positive cues from Asian as well as European markets in line with weekend rally in the US markets on easing of tensions in Ukraine, too fuelled buying activity on the domestic bourses, brokers said.

The BSE S&P BSE 30-share Sensex resumed strong and was in positive terrain throughout the day, before ending at 25,519.24 -- a rise of 190.10 points or 0.75 per cent. In previous three days, it plunged 579 points or 2.23 per cent. The wide-based 50-issue CNX Nifty also bounced back 57.40 points, or 0.76 per cent, to 7,625.95. It had stumbled by 178 points or 2.3 per cent in the previous three trading days. Auto stocks were in the limelight and mainly led the rally. M&M was the top gainer from Sensex with a rise of 6.45 per cent on hopes of good tractor sales after monsoon rains.

Tata Motors gained 3.33 per cent, Maruti Suzuki 1.77 per cent, Hero MotoCorp 0.80 per cent and Bajaj Auto 0.37 per cent. Besides auto shares, HDFC, Infosys, L&T, Sesa Sterlite and Axis Bank too attracted good buying support. In real estate sector, a significant number of shares ended in the green. Anant Raj, HDIL, Parsvnath, Puravankara, Unitech and DLF saw smart gains. Industry and experts welcomed REIT and InvIT guidelines and said it would help attract investments to the tune of USD 15-20 billion (over Rs one lakh crore) through such trusts, from foreign as well as domestic investors.

"Sentiments remained upbeat as participants across the globe are expecting the situation in Ukraine and Middle East to stabilise. Shares of realty firms remained on buyers' list after Sebi approved the setting up and listing of Real Estate and Infrastructure Investment Trusts, commonly referred as REITs," said Jayant Manglik, President - Retail Distribution, Religare Securities.